ULINE, INC.

About ULINE, INC.

Uline is a bubble-wrap popper's dream come true. The company sells more than 27,500 packaging and shipping products (such as bubble wrap, corrugated boxes, envelopes, and tape), warehouse supplies (work tables and dock equipment), janitorial products (brooms and cleansers), and retail supplies (bags, merchandise tags, and pricing devices). Uline's operations are supported by about a dozen distribution centers strategically located throughout the US (including in California, Illinois, and Texas), as well as facilities in Canada and Mexico. The company also markets products through its website. Uline is owned and operated by the Uihlein family.

Geographic Reach

From its headquarters in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, Uline provides shipping supplies to customers throughout North America. It has distribution centers near Chicago; Minneapolis; Allentown; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Dallas; and Seattle, as wells as in Tijuana and Monterrey in Mexico and near Toronto.

Operations

Uline has expanded its menu of packaging and shipping products in recent years. It sells more than 1,200 shipping box sizes.

Strategy

The company is also expanding its infrastructure to keep up with demand. It plans to build a 50,000-sq.-ft. office building and a 1 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in Kenosha County to replace its Waukegan, Illinois distribution center, with construction beginning in early 2015 .

In 2014 the company also planned to build a 1 million-sq.-ft. warehouse and a 200,000-sq.-ft. building to serve as its second corporate office in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The $100 million expansion would double the size of the company's corporate campus.

Uline in 2013 opened the first phase of a 640,000-sq.-ft. building that replaces its Eagan, Minnesota, distribution center. The new center, which broke ground in 2011, will have more than 80 loading docks

Sales and Marketing

Uline has divided its sales territories nationwide. It covers Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and its home state of Wisconsin.

It partners with several vendors, such as Rubbermaid, 3M, Zebra, Gatorade, Velcro, and Dymo, as part of its business. The company also sells its products through a 627-page catalog.

Company Background

The company began in 1980 in the basement of founders' Liz and Dick Uihlein.